Starting High School:There are many of you out there who are soon to be or have just started High School. There is a big leap in between the general studies of Junior High/Middle School and what is to be expected of you now that you have entered High School.A large portion of teens face anxiety because of the biological and social changes around you. That is, you are growing up, and you are thrown into a setting you are not used to. Most children are raised to believe that adolescence is a time of trouble making, depression, and difficulty. While that is sometimes the case, I encourage you to enter high school with your head held high! High school should be fun, friendly, and it is also important academically...so have fun...but pay attention in class!!!

In terms of social issues, you should make yourself available to school counselors, counselors outside of your school, and surround yourself with overall positive influences.

Academically speaking, here are some tips that may be of use to you:

talk to your teachers!

Nothing is more important than opening yourself up to social ties. Who is going to write your letters of recommendation when you are a senior trying to get into college? Who may give you a bit of extra help on that last paper to give you an A? Why…Mr. Perfect Teacher that you decided to befriend! Making your teacher your friend instead of your enemy can do wonders, so don’t forget to take advantage of that!

Read, read, read

If you are planning to go to college, get this habit down early. College is about Reading, and then taking tests on it. Reading textbooks…usually sucks. We all know that. So, to immerse yourself in this habit, try reading books you enjoy outside of class. Read something fun but a little challenging. Look up words you don’t know. Read genres you wouldn’t normally read. You can learn a lot from reading a historic romance novel, you know.

join activities you WANT to join

For college apps, and for fun’s sake, JOIN ACTIVITIES! Whether its Sports, Chess Club, Key Club or Glee Club, do something after school that’s fun. It’s good for your resume, it builds social ties, and heck, its better than doing homework straight after school! No club you want to join? Try starting your own! All you need is some friends to help and an advisor willing to support it.

have a goal set in mind, but be open to suggestion

You don’t need to start making charts and graphs, but having an idea of what you might want to do after high school makes your time there all the more enriching. It isn’t about, “what am I going to do when I leave,” but rather, “what shall I do until It’s time for me to _____” Don’t let people push you into applying for a school you don’t like, or tell you you can’t go to college, or you have to go to college…etc. Do what you think is best. But remember, things hardly ever turn out like you want, so have a Plan B. And C. and maybe plan D-G as well. Just in case.

Don't forget about your local libraries!

Doing a research paper and out of sources? The internet isn’t everything…yet. Make sure to take advantage of town libraries. If your town has a state university, take advantage of what they have to offer. Not only do they have great coffee houses, colleges tend to have pretty good libraries for you to use on your paper.

Please remember that this is not a source to be cited, but rather a place to go to get ideas. Wikipedia is not always 100% truthful, and should be used with caution. Any information you learn from Wikipedia should be backed up with another source.

You will be taking two years of a foreign language…which is not easy. This site is very helpful but should not be used to write your paper for you. Rather, you can use it to check your work, or for alternate word use ideas. Along with this, I recommend the book called 501 Spanish Verbs (for Spanish only, obviously).

Great for math and science courses. Don’t take advantage of it, because you must learn conversion on your own. However, when conversion becomes a secondary problem, this is a great site to help you get through it quickly. I would also like to mention that Graphing Calculators do wonders, and are worth the money.

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Oscar Wilde